Method of making motor pistons



Mayl 22, 1934. v. H. TANDY 1,959,648

METHOD OF MAKING MOTOR PISTONS Filed Aug. 24, 195,1 4 sheets-sheet 1 #fram/5x May 22, 1934.

v. H. TANDY 1,959,648 METHOD OF MAKING MOTOR PISTONS Filed Aug. 24, 1951 4 sheets-sheet 2 May 22, 1934. l v H TANQY 1,959,648

METHOD OF MAKING MOTOR PISTONS Filed Aug. 24. 1931 sheets-sheep s May 22, 1934.

l v. H, TANDY .METHOD OF MAKING MOTOR PISTONS Filed Aug. 24, 1931 4 sheets-sheet 4 Hrw/@Quay Parental May 2z, 1934 UNITED' STATES PATENT OFFICE Victor Il. Tandy, Lynwood, Calif., assigner to Edward M. Smith, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application August 24, 19in, serial No. 559,008

3 Claims.

My invention relates generally to the diecasting art, and relates particularly to a process of making castings having hollow sections therein with various internally extending bosses,

5 ribs, webs, and projections, and to the productresulting from this process.

The invention has in view and is particularly adapted for the production of die-casting skirted pistons such as are used in -internal combustion motors.

It is general practice in the piston manufacturing art to die-cast pistons with the head portion or the larger cross-sectional portion of the piston lowermost, and the skirt portion or the smaller cross-sectional portion uppermost and to introduce the molten metal into the mold at the' bottom so that the metal flows upward from the head portion of the mold to i'lll the skirt portion thereof. This necessitates the use of a pouring gate which communicates with the entire length of the mold cavity to insure theproper filling o`f the narrow skirt portion. The use of a gate of this character results in the piston having a sprue of large proportions attached to the .sides thereof which adds to the difficulty and expense of casting and machining the castmg.

It is an object of my invention to provide a process for making die-cast pistons which includes the forming of a skirted piston in a mold in which the head portion of the piston is uppermost so that the molten metal ows downward into the narrow sklrted portion and lls the mold cavity from the skirted portion toward the head portion, the metal setting progressively from the narrower cross-sectional portion toward the larger cross-sectional portion and at all times during the setting of the metal, port'ons of the metal still liquid being in constant communication with liquid metal in a larger cross-sectional portion ofthe mold to compensate for crystallization shrinkage so that freedom from porosity in the casting is assured.

It is also general practice in the art to split a piston skirt from the bottom edge of the skirt to a point adjacent the solid head portion of the piston to allow for quick expansion and contraction of the piston. This common form l of splitting a skirt of the piston is disadvanta- 59 geous because the walls of the piston have a i tendency to expand and contract only over a small area lclosely adjacent the split, which results in a dstortion of the piston.

It is an object of my invention to provide as a ne7 article of manufacture a cast metallic (Cl. Ztl-156.5)

alloyed piston having a substantially U-shaped expansion slot formed in the wall of the piston skirt which allows a comparatively large area. of one side of the piston to expand as a unit with# out appreciably distorting the piston.

It is another object of my invention to provide a process by which the U-shaped expansion slot mentioned in the above paragraph may be formed in the piston wall by coring during the casting of the piston, thus obviating the necesci. sity of costly machine work.

It is also common practice to form oil drain holes communicating between the oil ring groove formed in the outer surface of the piston and the interior thereof, these holes being formed by a 79 drilling operation. This is an expensive operation and is unsatisfactory because the area of the drilled holes is limited by the width of the oil ring groove.

It is another object of my invention to provide a cast metal piston having a plurality of .cored oil-drain openings communicating between the interior of the piston and an oil ring groove von the exterior thereof, and to form these openings by coring during the casting4 of the piston, thus 80 obviating the cost and time required to drillV these holes.

It is another object of my invention to provide a. motor piston having an integral web which extends longitudinally from the head portion thereof to a point adjacent the lower end o f the skirt on the side of the piston opposite the expansion slot to conduct a portion of the heat from the head of the piston to the solid portion of the skirt and away from the pin 9o bosses.

It is another object of-my invention to provide a process for making cast motor pistons from a metallic alloy having relatively low specic gravity and a relatively high coe'icient of heat con- 95 ductivity, which alloy is adapted, when cast in a suitable mold as herein disclosed, to produce a casting which is substantially nonporous and is of a relatively line-grained structure.

It is another object of my invention to provide 10o as a new article of manufacture a piston made from a metallic alloy predominantly consisting of aluminum and containing copper, magnesium, and silica in proportions to produce a relatively small amount o'f eutectic.

These and other objects will be made evident in the following part of the specification-and in the appended claims. t

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 isa top plan view of a die-casting ele- 110 ment including a mold for forming a cast metal piston comprised in the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken on a median plane through the mold included in the die-casting element, this view being taken as indicated by the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken as indicated by the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, but showing the molded shell sections separated from the casting.

Fig. 4 is a view comparable to Fig. 2, but drawn to an enlarged scale, the core segments included in the mold being shown in elevation.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken as indicated by the line 5-5 of Fig. 4, the core segments of this view being also shown in elevation and the mold cavity being filled with metal.

Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are horizontal sectional views taken as indicated by the lines 6-6, 7-7, and 8-8 respectively of Fig. 5.

Fig. 9 is a bottom plan view of the segmental core shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the piston of the invention.

Figs. l1, 12, and 13 are horizontal sectional views through the piston, these views being comparable to the cross-sections of the pistons shown respectively in Figs. 6, 7, and 8, but with the mold shell sectionsl and the core segments removedtherefrom.

The details of construction and the process of making the piston of the invention may be better understood by describingflrst the die-casting element including the mold in which the piston is formed, with reference to Figs. 1 to 9 inclusive.

Referring particularly to'Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive.4

I show a die-casting element 11 which includes a horizontally extending supporting `member l2 suitably secured to a base 13. Secured in the manner shown to the outer end of the supporting member 12 is a bracket member 14 including a horizontally extending portion 15, the axis of which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the supporting member 12, this portion 15 rigidly supporting, in the manner shown, a non-rotatable, horizontally extending shaft 16. Rotatably supported on the shaft 16 is a die' plate supporting bracket 17 comprising a horizontal plate 19 and'a pair of normally vertically extending relatively spaced legs 21 and 22 formed integral therewith and depending therefrom.

Provided in the lower end of the leg 21 is a horizontal bore 23,and provided in the leg 22 is a bore 24 coaxial with the bore 23.` The shaft 16 is adapted to extend through the bores 23 and 24 in the manner shown, and support the rotatable bracket 17. Formed integral with the leg 21 of the bracket 17 is an outwardly extending boss 25 to which is secured, in the manner shown, a manually operable lever 26, by which the bracket 17 may be rotated on the shaft 16 from its normal position shown in solid lines in Fig. 3 to the position in which it is shown in the dotted lines A of this figure. Also secured to the boss 25 is a rod 27 which normally extends downwardly parallel to the longitudinal axes of the legs 21 and 22 of the bracket 17 and upon which is mounted in l,any suitable manner a counterweight 28 which Lwaeae 32 is of such a. diameter as to extend outward from the recess 31, and is frictionally engaged by the cam' member 29 which engagement serves to retain the roller 32 in the recess 31. Provided on the upper surface of the carriage member 30 is a pair of relatively spaced vertically extending lifting pins 35 which project through openings 36 provided in the horizontal upper surface 37 of the plate 19.

Supported in spaced relationship with the horizontal upper surface 37 of the plate 19 by suitable bolts and spacing washers indicated by the numeral 38 is a horizontally extending die plate 39. The die plate 39 is provided with vertical openings 40 adapted to receive the lifting pins 35. As shown in Fig. 3, the lifting pins 35 are of such a length that when the carriage member 30 is in its lowermost or normal position the pins 35 terminate just short of the upper surface 41 of the plate 39, and when the carriage member is in its uppermost position as indicatedin the dotted line position A of Fig. 3 the pins 35 project outward beyond the upper surface 41 of the plate 39, as shown.

Resting on the plate u39 isa segmental core generally designated by the numeral 43. The core 43 includes an elongated vertically extending central column 44 which is of substantially rectangular cross-section, as shown in Figs. 6 to 9 inclusive, and is secured at one end thereof to the plate 39 by bolt means 44a in the manner shown, the other end thereof being suitably shaped to form a part of the inner wall of a mold/cavity. Resting on the die plate 39 and abutting opposite sides of the central column 44 is a pair of core segments 45 and `46, which cooperate with the central column 44 to form a center section of the core 43. Resting on the plate 39 and abutting one of the remaining opposite sides of the central column is a pair of core segments 47 and 48, these segments cooperating to form one of the side sections of the die core. Resting on the die plate 39 in a similar manner and abutting the opposite side of the central column 44 is a pair of core segments 49 and 50, which cooperate to form another of the side sections of the core. All of these co-re segments have outer walls cooperating to form a substantially cylindrical core adapted to form the inner wall of a mold cavity.

Provided in each of the side segments 47 End 48 between the opposite longitudinal ends thereof is a semi-circular depression 52, these depressions cooperating to form an inwardly extending boss cavity 53 which terminates inwardly in a vertical-- ly extending wall 54. Provided in each of the side segments 49 and 50 at a point intermediate their these depressions cooperating to form an inwardly extending boss cavity 56 terminating inwardly in f a vertically extending wall 57. Each of the segments comprising the core 43 is provided with an enlargement at the lower end thereof, the outer surface. of each of these enlargements being arcuated to cooperate toform an annular shoulder 58. The upper portions of the segments comprising the core 43 `are shown as providing various projections, ribs, bosses, etc., some of which are immaterial `to the present invention and some of which embody features of the invention and will be described herein. Supported on the die plate 39 is a mold shell generally designated by the numeral 60 which comprises complementary sections 61 and 62, each of which is provided with a vertically extending semi-circular inner wall 63, which walls cooperate in their normal positions to surround and contact the annular shoulder 58 of the core 43 and cooperate to surround the upf per portions of the core 43 in relatively spaced relationship therewith for the purpose of forming the outer wall of the mold cavity. Each of the sections 61 and 62 is provided with an inwardly extending projection 65 adapted to extend axially into the cavities 53 and 56, the inner ends of these projections contacting the vertically extending walls 54 and 57. These projections 65 are provided to cooperate with the cavities 53v and 56 to form inwardly extending pin bosses on thel casting, these bosses having cored openings therein.

Each of the shell sections 61 and 62 is provided with an inwardly extending substantially rectangular boss 66 surrounding the projection 65. Each of the bosses 66 is provided with an inwardly projecting rib 67 extending along one side thereof, the longitudinal axis of each being parallel to the longitudinal axis of the .core 43. The ribs 67 project inward-from the arcuate inner surface of the sections 61 and 62 a suiiicient distance to contact the core 43. As clearly shown in Fig. 7, the ribs 67 of the section 61 contact the core segment 50, and the ribs 67 of the section 62 contact the core segment 48 directly opposite thereto. Each of the rectangular bosses 66 is provided with a small rectangular notch 66a in the upper edge thereof directly above the longitudinal axis of the projection 65.V The core segments 50,46, and 48 are provided with outwardly extending projections adapted to cooperate to form a ridge 68 disposed in a plane intersecting the adjacentupper ends of the ribs 67 and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis thereof, the longitudinal ends of the ridge 68 terminating just short of the ribs 67.

As best shown in Figs. 5 and 6, each of the segments 46, 47, 48, 49, and 50 is provided with an outwardly extending projection 69 disposed in the same horizontal plane adjacent and above the plane of the ridge 68. As shown best in Figs. 4, 6, and 7, the core segment 45 is provided with an inwardly extending longitudinal channel 70 extending from the.upper portion of the core 43 downward to a point below the longitudinal axis of the boss cavities 5,3 and 56. The upper surfaces of the core segments comprising the core 43 may be of any suitable coniiguration and may be provided with cross channels, as indicated at 71 for the purpose of providing interlonwebs on the head portion of the casting.

Associated with the mold shell 60 is a mold opening mechanism generally designated by the numeral 75. The mechanism 75 includes a clamping member 76'rigidly secured to the supporting member 12, as shown. The clamping member 76 includes a vertically extending post 77 adapted to support a mold supporting bracket' 78 which includes a bearing portion having a vertical bore therein through which the post 77 extends, there .being suitable lock means, not shown, associated with the post 77 to lock the supporting bracket 78 thereto. The bracket member 78 includes a T-shaped body 79 comprising a horizontal`y extending head portion 80 extending perpendicular to the longitudinal axi` of the supporting member and a leg portion 81 extending at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the head portion 80.

Pivotally supported to the opposite outer ends of the head portion 80 oi the bracket 78- is a pair of levers 82, the outer ends of which are adapted for pivotal engagement by means of clevises83 with the-shell sections 61 and 62. The relationship between the levers 82 and the shell sections 61 and 62 is such that when the shell sections are in their normal or closed positions the levers extend inrelatlvely parallel relationship on either side of the die plate 39 in the manner shown in solid lines in Fig. 1. I

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, the extreme outer end of the leg portion 81 is adapted to pivotally support a toggle mechanism general`y designated by the numeral 85 which comprises a toggle knuckle 86 pivoted to the leg 81 and a pair of toggle links 87 pivotally connected to opposite ends of the knuckle 86 at points in a circle generated around the longitudinal axis of the pivot point of the knuckle 86. The toggle links 87 are pivotally connected in any suitable manner to the levers 82, the association between these toggle links and levers being such that when rotation is imparted to the toggle 85 in the direction of the arrow B, Fig. 1, the knuckle willl exert a force in opposite directions on the levers 82, causing these levers to swing outward into the non-parallel position shown in dotted lines 89 of Fig. 1, the outward swing of the levers being operable to separate the shell sections 61 and 62from the core 43.

The process of forming the piston of my invention is carried out in the following manner. With the operating parts'of the die-'casting element 11 and the shell sections 6l and 62 in the positions in which they are indicated in solid lilies in Fig. l, a riser cap 90 is placed upon the upper surface of the shell sections 61 and 62 in the manner shown in Figs. 4 and 5. This riser cap is provided with a pouring gate 91 communicating with the mold cavity formed by the core 43, the shell sections 61 and 62, and the riser cap 90. The molten metal is poured into the mold cavity through the pouring gate 91 and flows downward into the 1 lowermost portions thereof, the setting of the metal taking p' ace progressively from the smallest cross-sectional area of the cavity (this area forming the skirted portion of the piston) towardthe larger cross-sectional portion of the mold cavity (this portion forming the solid head of the piston). lit will be seen that during the solidified-tion period the metal still liquid in the narrower crosssectional portions of the mold cavity is in constant communication with'the moten metal in the larger cross-sectional portions of the cavity so that the required excess metal to compensate for crystallization shrinkage is at all times supplied at rst in the head portion of the piston andA then in the pouring gate 91.

It will be seen by an inspection of Figs. 7 and 8 and by a comparison of these figures with views 10 to 13 inclusive illustrating the finished piston casting, that as the metal ls the mold cavity the bosses 66 on the shell sections 61 and 62 form rectangular recesses 95 in the outer surface of the piston substantially in the manner shown in Fig.

10. It will be understood that the notches 66a and the bosses 66 will form on the piston casting outward projecting lugs 96 which extend out- .ward from the lower surface of the recesses 95 ments 48 and 50 form longitudinally extending slots in the walls of the piston skirt adjacent the edges'of the recesses 95, and the ridge 68 forms a recess 98 in the inner wall of the piston skirt extending between adjacent ends of slots 97 in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of these slots.

The projections 69 on the core sections 46, 47, 48, 49 and 50 form on the inner surface of the piston skirt a plurality of depressions 99 which extend substantially radially relative to the longitudinal, axis of the piston in the same horizontal plane.

The channel 70 in the segment 45 forms on the interior wall of the piston skirt an inward projecting web extending from the solid head portion of the piston downward to a point below the longitudinal axis of the boss cavities 53 and 56 for the purpose of conducting a portion` of the heat from the head of the piston into the solid portion the skirt.

After the metal in the mold is set, the mold parts including the shell and the core may be removed from the piston in the following manner. The toggle knuckle 86 may be rotated by means, notshown, in the direction of the arrow IB of Fig. 1 to spread the levers 82 into their non-parallel positions 89 to separate the shell sections 61 and 62 and to withdraw the projections 65 from the bosses 53 and 56. After the shell sections 61 and 62 have been thus separated from the casting, the lever 26 which is secured to the bracket 17 may be manipulated to rotate the bracket 17 from the position shown in solid lines in Fig. 3 into the dotted line positionfA of this figure, as above described. This movement of the bracket 17 relative to the shaft 15 and the cam 29 causes the roller 32 to ride over the crown of the cam.,29 in the direction of the arrow C of Fig. 3, this movement being operable to raise the carriage from the position in which it is shown inthe solid line position in Fig. 3 to the position in which it is shown in the dotted line position A. ward movement of the carriage and the consequent upward movement of the pins 35 included therein is operable to force the piston segments and the casting in a longitudinal direction relative to the central column 44 as indicated by the arrow D of Fig. 3, which loosens the segments from the column 44 so that the piston may be-lifted from vthe die plate 39.

It is, of course, apparent that the details of construction of the operating mechanisms for separating the shell sections and the core segments are immaterial, it being within the scope of the invention to accomplish this by any suitable mechanism or by hand, if so desired.

After the piston casting together with the core segments have been removed from the central column 44 a suitable instrument may be inserted in the holes provided in the bottom surface of the center segments 45 and 46, and these segments may be moved inward in the direction of the arrows E of Fig. 9 either separately or simultaneously and then withdrawn longitudinally from the piston casting. It will be seen by inspecting Figs. 6 and 7 that it isnecessary to move the core section 45 inward a suiiicient distance to free the segment from the web formed by the channel before the segment is moved longitudinally relative to the casting. likewise it is necessary. to move the segment 46 laterally inward a suicient distance to free the segment from the depression 99 and the recess 98 formed by Vprojection thereof before it is moved longitudinally from the casting.

This up- After the segments 47 and 48 have been removed the segments may be moved laterally in the same manner a distance suicient to free these segments from the depressions 99 and the cavity 56, whereupon these segments may be drawn longitudinally from the casting. The segments 49 and 59 are removed in the same'manner by a combined lateral and longitudinal movement to free these segments from the depressions 99 and to withdraw them from the casting.

The next step in the process of making the piston of the invention consists in cutting oif the riser cap formed by-the pouring gate 91, which operation may be accomplished in any suitable manner, the manner of cutting the riser cap being immaterial to the invention.`

The next step in the process is the tempering of the piston casting which is accomplished by heating the casting to a predetermined degree, quenching in water and then drawing the temper, the exact tempering procedure, however, being immaterial to the invention and might be done in various ways any of which would be satisfactory.

The final step in the process consists in machining the piston which operation includes a number of operations. first machined to a finished smooth condition and then a plurality of annular 4oil ring grooves are cut in the outer surface of the piston skirt adjacent the head portion of the piston. One of these annular ring grooves, ordinarily the lowermost, is cut in the same plane as the depressions 99 formed on the interior surface of this skirt as before described. The depth of this lowermost ring groove is such that the groove is cut longitudinally through the deepest part of the depressions 99 to form substantially rectangular openings 105 through the wall of the piston skirt, as shown best in Fig. 12, these openings constituting oil drain openings communicating between the lowico The outer surface of the piston is ermost ring groove or oil ring groove and the` interior kof the piston.

The purpose and operation of an oil ring and oil drain openings in a piston is well known in the art and therefore no further discussion of the purpose and operation of these oil drain openings 105 need be given herein. It is apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that these oil drain openings 105 are an important feature of the invention inasmuch as it is possible to obtain by coring these drain openings 105 in the above described manner a much greater area than by drilling an oil drain hole in the oil ring groove, it being, of course, apparent that the size of a drilled hole would be limited by the width of the oilring groove. In my invention if it is desired to increase the area of the drain holes 105 it is only necessary `to core the depressions in such a manner that when the oil groove is cut in the outer surface of the piston the drain holes 105 will be formed of greater length.

Directly below the oil ring groove there is cut an additional annular groove in the outer surface of this piston skirt, this groove being cut in a plane co-incidental with the recess 98 so that the groove cuts longitudinally through the recess 98 and forms a connecting slot 106 extending between and perpendicular to adjacent upper ends of the longitudinally extending slots 97. The longitudinally extending slots 97 and the laterally extending conecting slot 106 cooperate tov form a substantially inverted U-shaped slot extending through the wall of the piston skirt, as shown ly extending part of the U-shaped slot I prefer. to form an additional longitudinally extending slot 107, the upper end of which terminates just short of the connecting slot 106 and the lower end of which terminates adjacent but just short of the lower end of the piston skirt.

The inverted U-shaped slot which is ordinarily termed an expansion slot is an important feature of the invention inasmuch as this slot allows they entire area of the piston skirt between the longitudinal slots 97 to expand as a unit. The intermediate slot 107 allows an additional flexibility of the expanding part of the piston skirt which assists greatly in preventing distortion of the skirt due to extreme expansioncaused by unusually high temperatures sometimes built up in high speed internal combustion motors. rlfhe log 96 extending outward from that portion of the wall of the piston skirt defined' by the recess 95 is an important feature of the invention. The lug 96 constitutes an aligning means and is provided to facilitate the operation of assembling and connecting the rod and the wrist pin to the piston.

The longitudinally extending web 108 formed by the channel provided in the core segment 45 is another important feature .of the invention -and is provided for the purpose of transmitting heat from the solid head portion of the piston downward into the solid portion of thepiston skirt at a point remote from the pin bosses, thereby materially decreasing the heat which is ordinarily transmitted directly from the head portion to the`wrist pins.

Included in the final machining operation is the drilling of, a'hole through the wall of the piston skirt at, the lower portion of each of the recesses 95. These drilled holes` are provided for the purpose of. draining oil which might be entrapped in the lower portion of the recess 95 back into the interior of the piston.

It should be understood that, aside from the various features just described, the configuration .of the interior of the piston may be of any desired -form having various webs or ribs to strengthen the piston walls at desired places and having various depressions or recesses provided for the purpose of lightening the walls of the piston at various desired points, it being understood, of course, that these webs, ribs, depressionsand recesses are formed so that the core segments comprising the core 43 may be quickly and easily withdrawn from engagement therewith.

'Although I have hereindescribed only one complete embodiment of my invention together with the processl of making the same, it should be A understood that various changes might be made both in the article of manufacture and in the process and that numerous embodiments thereof might be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. 'I'he process of making skirted piston castings by the use of a mold comprising a shell forming the outer walls of a mold cavity and a core forming the inner walls of said cavity, which process includes the steps of: providing said shell with a pair of relatively spaced, axially extending, inwardly projecting ribs contacting said core to-form slots through the walls of said piston skirt forming said core with an outwardly projecting ridge disposed in a plane perpendicular to said ribs to form a recess in the inner wall of said piston skirt extending between adjacent ends of said slots, and with a plurality of relatively spaced, outwardly extending projections on the outer surface thereof to form a plurality of depressions in the inner wall of said piston skirt; l

cutting through one end of each of said axialv slots and longitudinally through said recess whereby said recess and said slots cooperate to form a substantially U-shaped slot extending through the wall of said piston skirt; and cutting a plurality of annular ring grooves in the outer surface of said piston, one of said grooves cutting through each of said depressions in the inner wall of said piston skirt to form a plurality of relatively spaced passages through said skirt communicating between said ring groove and the interior of said piston.

' 2. The process of casting motor pistons which consists in: forming a core with outwardly extending projections; placing the core in a mold cavity; pouring the metal so that said projections will form depressions in the inner wall of the casting; removing the casting from the mold; tempering the casting; and machining the casting, which includes cutting an annular groove in the outer surface thereof, said groove cutting through said depressions so as to form a plurality of relatively spaced passages in the wall of the casting which communicate between the interior thereof and said groove.

3. The process of lcasting motor pistons which consists in: utilizing a shell to form a mold cavity; forming a core withI outwardly extending projections; placing t e core in said mold cavity; pouring the metal so that said projections will form depressions in the inner walls of the piston casting; removing the piston casting from the mold cavity; and cutting a groove in the outer surface of the piston casting which extends through the depressions in the inner walls of the piston casting so as to form a plurality of relatively spaced passages which communicate between the interior thereof and said groove.

VICTOR H. TANDY. 

